Testimony by Anita Shreve Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Testimony
Book Review: A Compelling Story..graphic in parts but brings to a light serious issues
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading the opening scene of Testimony, I honestly didn't know if I was going to like this book. It does open with a bang, and is quite graphic and shocking. After I read further in the book I realized the significance of the shock factor. This story focuses on how a single act/decision that a person makes can have consequences that are life changing. It involves a group of teens at a private school and relates to a single night and choices that they all make and the series of events that may have impacted those choices.
This truly is a compelling story that is told in a unique style that alternates between all of the characters in the book. It weaves a sequence of events that is gripping and definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat until you get to the end. I didn't want to put the book down until I could find out what happened to all of the characters. The story is mainly told in first person by the main characters involved including several parents. It is told in the style of a Testimony which relates back to the title of the book.
Anita Shreve tends to focus on one issue in her novels that carries throughout the book. In this one, it is underage drinking which has been a serious issue in the news and in many communities. I feel as a parent of a son, I could relate to the mothers feelings about their sons. My son is still young but this is something I will need to be aware of as he becomes a teen and young adult.
This type of issue crosses over many age, sex, race and economic backgrounds. This is an issue that can effect many teens and young adults. It is something to be prepared for and to have an open dialogue about with our teens. I believe that this book would be good for parents of teens to read as well as teens nearing college age. It is graphic in parts and contains sexual content so you as a parent should read it yourself to determine if it is appropriate for your teen to read.
Testimony is a book that makes you think about life and the consequences of our actions and choices. I was still thinking about the characters a day after I finished the book...to me, that's a sign of a good book!!
Book Review: A Gripping Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a big fan of books where each chapter is told from a different character's POV but Anita Shreve makes it work in this gripping story. The way the technique is used here gives you a 360 view of the situation, the hows and whys, and how events that are seemingly unrelated can have devastating effects. Testimony is the story of students at a private school and how one decision can change everything. Shreve captures each person's voice, and they are all unique. Exquisite writing. I couldn't put it down. This is a must-read.Book Review: A Page Turner with Quality
Summary: 4 Stars
An easy to read, nicely nuanced novel of a sordid sexual episode and its consequences. Gives us the story from the perspective of the prep school perpertrators, the victim, the parents, school officials, the police, a researcher, a law professor, etc. Each chapter seems to be written in a different voice and tense really maximizes one's interest.Book Review: A Woman Against Women's Issues
Summary: 1 Stars
After hearing great things about Anita Shreve, I was excited to read this book. I was highly disappointed. First of all, the narration style seemed contrived. It sounds like one narrator is trying to put herself in the shoes of 20 people and trying to make herself sound differently by mixing things up with first, second (really weird), and third person narration. However, my greatest problem with the book is that a woman centers an entire novel around a young girl falsely accusing men of rape. This girl is made into the villain of the novel and she sounds like a blabbering idiot when she narrates. No time is spent developing her character but there are chapters upon chapters spent developing the character of the men who had sex with her. These men become the victims. It hurts me, as a woman, to read a well-known and respected female author throw the issue of rape under the bus like this. While I can understand readers finding the story interesting, I hope that people realize the danger of developing a plot that undermines the work that so many people have done to have society take the issue of statutory rape seriously.Book Review: A bit disjointed, but a good overall tale
Summary: 3 Stars
It wasn't until almost halfway through this book that I was able to get into the style of the story as told from the various characters. The story was compelling, but tragic, and the moral of the tale was completely unexpected (to me). Not bad, but might have been better told entirely from one POV.